Dear WIA-E contact, student,
Are you ready for your personal ‘giant leap’? Only seven days to go before the Aerospace Women’s Day: Big Steps in High Heels. This event, organized by Women’s Department ‘Amelia’ from the study association VSV ‘Leonardo da Vinci’ in cooperation with WIA-E Leiden, will take place at the University of Delft on the 9th of March.
From 14.00h to around 18.30h, we will provide you with different perspectives on life as a woman in the aerospace industry. With two topnotch speakers and a workshop in collaboration with Airbus Defence and Space Netherlands, the event will give you the opportunity to deepen your knowledge and broaden your horizon. We hope to inspire you and help you expand your professional network. Below you can find more information on the program of the day including short introductions about the speakers and the workshop.
Big steps in high heels is completely free of charge but seats are limited. All we ask is to subscribe here before the 7th of March!
We look forward to meeting you next week,
Kind regards,
Women’s Department ‘Amelia’
Program Aerospace Women’s Day: Big steps in high heels
13:30 Registration
14:00 Short opening by Hester Bijl, dean of the faculty of Aerospace Engineering
14:15 What can you learn from my career? – Anke Matijssen, Deerns
15:00 What’s it like as a woman in a men’s world – Agnes van Driel, Fokker Aerostructures
15:45 Short break
16:00 Workshop ‘Stratego for Women’, introduced by Mirjam Ros & Wencke van der Meulen, Airbus Defence and Space
17:30 Drink with network opportunities
After two inspirational lectures and a thought-provoking workshop, the drink provides an excellent opportunity for the attendants to get in touch with both the speakers and each other.
Inspiring line-up of successful women:
Hester Bijl
The day will be opened by Hester Bijl. In a period of just 10 years, Hester received a masters degree in both Mathematics and English and a PhD in Computational Fluid Dynamics.
She is definitely a woman to look up to, as she is currently the dean of the faculty of Aerospace Engineering.
Anke Matijssen
The first contribution to the Aerospace Women’s Day will be an inspiring lecture by Anke Matijssen, the manager of the Airport Department at Deerns, an international engineering firm specialised in installation technology, energy and building physics.
Anke Matijssen, started to study Aerospace Engineering at the TU Delft in 1993. After an internship in Australia she graduated in 2002 within the chair Aircraft Performance and Propulsion. After her graduation, Anke started to work at Deerns as a designer for airport systems. First engaging herself in the design of mainly international projects, she developed as a project manager, being responsible for the design of all airport systems for various airports. Her next career step was to become the manager of the airports department of Deerns. Currently she is responsible for 52 people, based in the Netherlands and Abu Dhabi. Among Deerns’ clients are Schiphol, Abu Dhabi International Airport, Mexico International Airport, Kuwait International Airport and many other airports in the Middle East, the Caribbean and Europe.
Agnes van Driel
After Anke’s experiences and stories, we will hear from Agnes van Driel.
Agnes is production manager of the Metal Bonding, Glare & Composites unit at Fokker Aerostructures in Papendrecht. She has been working at Fokker for 9 years, after graduating from Aerospace Engineering at the TU in Delft. She started as a management trainee, and did 4 different assignments at various Fokker companies. After the traineeship she worked in Papendrecht as support officer and later as program manager for the Gulfstream 650 program, before starting as production manager in 2015. Key characteristics are her focus for results, enthusiasm and analytical problem solving skills. In her free time Agnes enjoys travelling, playing tennis and skiing, preferably combined. Her motto is: believe in yourself & keep improving.
Wencke van der Meulen & Mirjam Ros
Right after the break, before we move on to the workshop, both Wencke van der Meulen, Senior Project Manager Instruments & Systems and Mirjam Ros, Director Commercial, Contracts & Legal of Airbus Defence and Space will shortly share some of their personal work experience with you.
Wencke just came on board at Airbus DS Netherlands after a fourteen years career at the Netherlands Space Office in roles such as the Netherlands representative in ESA and the European Commission. Wencke holds a degree in Aerospace Engineering and a degree in Space Systems and Business Engineering and studied at the University of Delft. Mirjam is a member of the Management Team and holds a degree in Business Law and a degree in Public Administration & Public Policy. She has almost twenty years of experience in the aerospace industry, oil & gas and R&D. She works in the space domain at Airbus since 2008.
Monic Bührs & Elisa de Groot
In the workshop following the pitch of Wencke and Mirjam, Monic Bührs and Elisa de Groot will teach us how to play ‘Stratego’ at work. Stratego® is a game of attack and defence, of tension and surprise. Those who want to play that game will need to thoroughly understand their opponent. The same rules of the game also apply if you want to be successful at work. If you want to use this game to climb higher up the promotional ladder, you will need to have a good understanding of the field of influence in which you find yourself, and, most importantly, be familiar with the unwritten rules in order to choose the most effective form of attack or defence well ahead of time. And that, for so many women, is exactly the stumbling block. They are often unaware of the rules of the strategic game played within – male dominated – organisations.